Victoria Lounge were crowned Division 2 champions after a
hard-fought and tense victory against the ever dangerous Mad
Marroccas. With the pair having the highest run rate in the
division, a close match was expected. Victoria Lounge without Tim
Garrett (although he remained ever present from the sidelines
nursing a broken arm) won the toss opting to bat first. It looked to
be a good toss to win as they started in ferocious form with openers
Jim Crutcher (50) and Mohammed Alam (34) blasting the ball across
the park, putting on a partnership of seventy-three. They were
helped by some late hits from Gary Flanaghan (24) which accelerated
the Lounge to a tricky but not impossible to chase 167-2. With the
Expats players watching from the sidelines knowing a Lounge win
would deny them the title by run-rate alone, MM didn’t disappoint
with their chase. MM openers Neuman Iqbal and Joe Gray looked in
great touch as they kept themselves ahead of the run-rate at the
half way point, putting on a century stand. Neuman retired not out
for a half-century for a third straight match and their single
wicket fell when Gray was run out, four short of his 50. But as
darkness crept in MM struggled to time the ball, with in-form
captain Robbie Jacobs keeping the hunt on with some fierce swinging
and missing as the rate continued to rise. Needing fifteen oﬀ the
final over, Mad Marroccas could only manage six, finishing nine runs
short on a 159-1 to crown the Lounge champions.

Crossrail ended their Victoria Park era with victory over
bottom-placed Sports Interactive and themselves ending fifth place
in the league. Batting first, Crossrail struck 165-6, opener Riz
Mohammed (51) continuing his good form alongside Muhammed Ansari
(21). Despite an enjoyable 46 from Mark Duﬀy, Sports Interactive
fell well short ending on 106-6 in their allotted overs.

Masiha were edged out by Victoria Lounge, Expats and Camel Lights
into fourth place in the league without having to venture onto the
field, as their match against Mad Marroccas was forfeited by Robbie
Jacob’s men in what would have been their second game in consecutive
days.

Mad Marroccas ended in a surprising eighth place, despite their
superb run of wins prior to this week. The finale to the league
season was left to the league secretary himself, with Gary Horseman
leading out Homerton against old rivals Old Fallopians 2nd XI. OF,
batting first made a terrific start with Zubair Gardiwala striking
36 oﬀ just fifteen balls including three sixes before he misjudged a
short ball and was beautifully caught by Sam Hickey. Despite fifty
oﬀ five overs and fellow opener Matt Wake (33) and Jack Wright (30)
looking in good form, OF eventually finished on a disappointing
134-6 thanks largely to a superb late burst of wickets from Mark
Towle (4-33). With the inevitable mid-August gloom sweeping across
the park Homerton never looked in too much trouble, with the ever
reliable Len Hutchinson (52) and the superb all-round display of
Mark Towle (28) guiding them to victory with two overs still in the
tank and handing Gary’s men seventh place in the league, a mere
point below fourth.

And, so, with Homerton’s victory in the dark, the 2018 VPCCL came to
a close. A season which saw its first centurion for almost a decade
(Sanj Guewardene), one five-wicket haul (Joe Fisher) and a tense
battle in both Division 1, Division 2 and the Cup with both
divisions going down to the final week and three brand new crowned
champions.